Memorial Players

A Christmas Carol Auditions

Memorial Players is pleased to announce auditions for the Christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted for the stage by Romulus Linney, co-directed by Rina Steinhauer and Darren McGregor and produced by Kristine Smets.
Auditions will be held on the following dates:

Where: Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton St, Baltimore, in the second-floor Parish Hall (entrance on W. Lafayette Ave.).
Callbacks (if needed) will be announced by email.
Who: We are looking to cast 25 to 30 people. All roles are open and unpaid. Actors of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to audition.
Specifics:

• We will be auditioning actors in half hour blocks.
• To make the best use of everyone’s time, we ask that you sign up for an audition slot at www.signupgenius.com.

Please indicate if you have an interest in a specific role.

• Walk-ins are welcome, but we encourage you to attend early.
• Actors interested in the role of Scrooge, Cratchit, Fred, Marley, Fezziwig, or one of the three Spirits should come prepared with a one to two-minute monologue.
• Those auditioning for other roles are welcome to prepare a monologue, but it is not required.
• Auditions will also consist of cold readings from the script. You will be given a projected rehearsal schedule to review.

Rehearsals will begin on September 6th and will be three times a week (Wednesday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday afternoon for the most part). Please be prepared to list major conflicts during the rehearsal period.
Show dates are December 1 -3 and 9-11 at Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 pm and Sunday performances at 3:30 pm.

Questions: email us at falldrama1407@gmail.com

Characters (as described by Linney)

Actors auditioning for characters marked by a * should prepare a short monologue. Please note: Carolers, party goers, and children of Victorian London will be cast at a later date.

EITHER GENDER

• Two Gentlemen or Ladies: gentlemen or ladies who visit Scrooge at the beginning of the tale, seeking charitable contributions. Scrooge promptly throws them out of the office.
• The Ghost of Christmas Past*: The first spirit to visit Scrooge, a curious childlike apparition with a glowing head. This spirit takes Scrooge on a tour of Christmases in his past.
• The Ghost of Christmas Present*: The second spirit to visit Scrooge. A majestic giant clad in a green robe. His lifespan is restricted to Christmas Day. He escorts Scrooge on a tour of his contemporaries’ Holiday celebrations.
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come*: The third and final spirit to visit Scrooge, a silent phantom, clad in a hooded black robe, who presents Scrooge with an ominous view of his lonely death.

MALE ROLES

• Bob Cratchit*: Scrooge’s clerk, a kind, mild, and very poor man with a large family. Though treated harshly by his boss, Cratchit remains a humble and dedicated employee.
• Caroline’s Husband: part of a young couple that owes Scrooge money but cannot pay.
• Ebenezer Scrooge*: The miserly owner of a London counting-house, a nineteenth-century term for an accountant’s office. The three spirits of Christmas visit the stodgy bean-counter in hopes of reversing Scrooge’s greedy, cold-hearted approach to life.
• Fezziwig*: jovial merchant with whom the young Scrooge apprenticed. Fezziwig was renowned for his wonderful Christmas parties.
• Jacob Marley*: In the living world, Ebenezer Scrooge’s equally greedy partner. Marley died seven years before the narrative opens. He appears to Scrooge as a ghost condemned to wander the world bound in heavy chains. Marley hopes to save his old partner from suffering a similar fate.
• Nephew (Fred)*: Scrooge’s nephew, a genial man who loves Christmas. He invites Scrooge to his Christmas party every year, only to be refused by his grumpy uncle.
• Old Joe: Cockney pawnshop dealer who trades in stolen goods. Witty & devious, Joe is a distant relative of Dickens’ Fagin with a bawdy sense of humor.
• Orson: young boy, also doubles as caroler.
• Peter Cratchit (age about 12): Bob Cratchit’s son, a threadbare but proud child.
• Scrooge as a Boy: young boy, also doubles as caroler.
• Scrooge as a Young Man: Scrooge when he is just starting his career.
• Tiny Tim Cratchit (age about 7): Bob Cratchit’s youngest son, crippled from birth. Tiny Tim is a highly sentimentalized character who Dickens uses to highlight the tribulations of England’s poor.
• Topper: jovial, well-to-do, young man preparing to celebrate Christmas and toast Scrooge.
• Valentine: young boy, also doubles as caroler.

FEMALE ROLES

• Caroline: part of a young couple that owes Scrooge money but cannot pay.
• Fan: Scrooge’s sister and Fred’s mother. In Scrooge’s vision of Christmases past, he remembers Fan picking him up from school and walking him home.
• Mrs. Fezziwig: jovial wife of Mr. Fezziwig (see above)
• Belle: a beautiful woman whom Scrooge loved deeply when he was a young man. Belle broke off the engagement after Scrooge became consumed with greed and the lust for wealth. She later married another man.
• Mrs. Cratchit: Bob’s wife, a kind and loving woman.
• Martha Cratchit (age about 17): Bob Cratchit’s oldest daughter, who works in a milliner’s shop (hats), a threadbare but proud child.
• Belinda Cratchit (age about 13): Bob Cratchit’s daughter, a threadbare but proud child.
• Gillian Cratchit (age about 10): Bob Cratchit’s daughter, a threadbare but proud child.
• Miranda Cratchit (age about 9): Bob Cratchit’s daughter, a threadbare but proud child.
• Niece (Fred’s wife Julia): jovial, well-to-do, young woman preparing to celebrate Christmas and toast Scrooge.
• Niece’s sister (Lucy) jovial, well-to-do, young woman preparing to celebrate Christmas and toast Scrooge.
• Charwoman: one of the “three hag” that work at the Rags & Bones. She possesses great energy and ferocity as they trade Scrooge’s possessions with Old Joe.
• Laundress: one of the “three hags” that work at the Rags & Bones. She possesses great energy and ferocity as they trade Scrooge’s possessions with Old Joe.
• Undertaker’s Woman: one of the “three hags” that work at the Rags & Bones. She possesses great energy and ferocity as they trade Scrooge’s possessions with Old Joe.